Measuring containers having a storage chamber and a measuring chamber or head with a partial barrier therebetween permitting pouring of a predetermined amount of liquid from the storage chamber to the measuring chamber for dispensing a measured amount are known. Examples of such measuring containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,948:4,079,859 and 4,298,038. Those measuring containers were designed for the pouring of measured amounts of liquid and would be less suitable for dispensing measured amounts of flowable solid material. It is against this background that the applicant has devised a measuring container having a specific configuration and function which is capable of first measuring and then dispensing a predetermined amount of flowable solid material.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a container which enables a measured amount of flowable solid material to be transferred from a storage area to a location from which the measured amount can be dispensed.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a container in which the flowable solid material transferred to the dispensing location can be dispensed without further material flowing from the storage area.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an alternative container configuration whereby after a predetermined measured volume of material has been transferred from the storage container to the dispensing location, a predetermined portion of that measured volume can be returned to the storage container prior to dispensing the remainder of initially measured amount from the dispensing location.
According to the present invention there is provided a container for measuring and dispensing a predetermined amount of material, said container including a storage chamber, a measuring chamber and a dispensing chamber, said measuring chamber communicating with said storage chamber in such manner as to be fillable with material from said storage chamber upon tilting of said container from an initial position to a tilted position to pour material from said storage chamber into said measuring chamber, said measuring chamber having a closed bottom and being separated from said dispensing chamber by a barrier wall portion which extends from said closed bottom upwardly to a passage communicating with said dispensing chamber and which enables said measuring chamber to be completely filled substantially to the level of said passage when the container is in said tilted position, said measuring chamber having a closed bottom communicating with said dispensing chamber by way of said passage in such manner that upon reversion of the container to said initial position material will transfer from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber and surplus material which had not entered the measuring chamber will return to the storage chamber.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention there is provided for measuring and dispensing a predetermined amount of flowable solid material, a container including a storage chamber, a measuring chamber and a dispensing chamber, said measuring chamber communicating with said storage chamber in such manner as to be fillable with material from said storage chamber upon tilting of said container from an initial position to a tilted position to pour material from said storage chamber into said measuring chamber, said measuring chamber having a closed bottom and being separated from said dispensing chamber by a barrier wall portion which extends from said closed bottom upwardly to a passage communicating with said dispensing chamber and which enables said measuring chamber to be completely filled substantially to the level of said passage when the container is in said tilted position, said measuring chamber communicating with said dispensing chamber by way of said passage in such manner that upon reversion of the container to said initial position material will transfer from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber and surplus material which had not entered the measuring chamber will return to the storage chamber.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention there is provided for measuring and dispensing a predetermined amount of flowable solid material, a container including a storage chamber, a first measuring chamber, a second measuring chamber and a dispensing chamber, said first measuring chamber communicating with the storage chamber in such manner as to be fillable with material from said storage chamber upon tilting said container in a first direction from an initial position to pour material from said storage chamber into said measuring chamber, said first measuring chamber having a closed bottom and being separated from said dispensing chamber by a barrier wall portion which extends from said closed bottom upwardly to a passage communicating with said dispensing chamber and which enables said first measuring chamber to be completely filled substantially to the level of said passage when the container is tilted in said first direction, said first measuring chamber communicating with said dispensing chamber in such manner that upon reversion of the container to said initial position material will transfer from the first measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber and surplus material which had not entered the first measuring chamber will return to the storage chamber, and said second measuring chamber communicating with the dispensing chamber and being fillable therefrom upon tilting of said container in a second direction opposite to said first direction beyond the initial position to pour material from the dispensing chamber to fill the second measuring chamber, the relative dispositions of said chambers being such that when the container is again returned to the initial position, the material filling the second measuring chamber will return directly to the storage chamber and the material initially in the dispensing chamber which had not entered the second measuring chamber returns to the dispensing chamber.
According to a still further embodiment of the present invention there is provided for measuring and dispensing a predetermined amount of flowable solid material, a container including a storage chamber, a first measuring chamber, a second measuring chamber, a dispensing chamber, a filling bore extending downwardly into the storage chamber and closable by a hollow plug, said plug having an opening in a wall portion located for alignment with an opening in the bore wall to provide communication between the storage chamber and the first measuring chamber and a passage within the hollow plug extending between the opening in the wall portion thereof and an opening in the plug bottom to provide communication between the storage chamber and the aligned openings in the filling bore and the plug wall portion, said first measuring chamber communicating with the storage chamber in such manner as to be fillable with material from said storage chamber through said passage and aligned openings upon tilting said container in a first direction from an initial position to pour material from said storage chamber into said first measuring chamber, said first measuring chamber having a closed bottom and being separated from said dispensing chamber by a barrier wall portion which extends from said closed bottom upwardly to a passage communicating with said dispensing chamber and which enables said first measuring chamber to be completely filled substantially to the level of said communicating passage when the container is tilted in said first direction, said first measuring chamber communicating with said dispensing chamber in such manner that upon reversion of the container to said initial position material will transfer from the first measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber and surplus material which had not entered the first measuring chamber will return to the storage chamber, said second measuring chamber being located within the hollow plug and being fillable from the dispensing chamber upon tilting of said container in a second direction opposite to said first direction beyond the initial position to pour material from the dispensing chamber to fill the second measuring chamber, the relative dispositions of said chambers being such that when the container is again returned to the initial position, the material filling the second measuring chamber returns from the plug to the storage chamber and the material initially in the dispensing chamber which had not entered the second measuring chamber returns to said dispensing chamber.